the washington murders
by ivorytowers
Summary: AU. Ziva is a respected FBI-agent, playing a deathly cat-and-mouse game with a dangerous murderer. Or is there more than meets the eye? Follow Ziva as she is trying to unravel the mistery that is named Tony.
1. And so we lay our scene

AN:

Disclaimer: Not mine.

**THE WASHINGTON MURDERS**

**And so we lay or scene**

It was a beautiful day in the early spring. It was just warm enough to enjoy an ice-cream and if you were lucky you could hear a bird cry. Everyone was happy that the sun had made his return. But in a tiny, little office in the center of the city was a young, beautiful woman stressing out, waiting for the phone to go off. Hoping it wouldn't. Knowing it would. She wished again that she hadn't taken this job, that she'd chosen another profession when she still could. That she'd taken the job to be a doctor, like her father had advised her. But stubborn as she was, she wouldn't listen to him and pick a more dangerous job: being an FBI-agent. She'd known that it earned bad and that the paperwork would be to die for, but it was the thing she knew would irritate her father the most. And she would happily make some paperwork to do that. But this, she couldn't handle. She paced through the room, looking up everytime she heard something, even if it was someone laughing outside or someone walking in the hallway. The clock on the wall was ticking very slowly, as if it was ticking in slow-motion. It could be any minute now. She was getting more nervous. She sat down, but immediately stood back and kept pacing. The sound of the clock annoyed her. It sounded like a thousand times louder than it really was and sounded like it was talking to her, blaming her for the events that had happened. The lives that had been taken. _Tik Tok. Tik Tok. Your fault. Your fault._ And the clock was right. She should've caught him a long time ago, but somehow he'd always outsmarted her. And it was giving her the creeps. It had never taken so long for her to catch someone, and she was scared for the more lives that would be taken. Knowing that the last one wouldn't stay the last one. It wouldn't stop until she stopped him. And she needed to do that as soon as possible. Every second counted. But right now, she must wait for the phone to ring. Another pair of footsteps sounded in the hallway. She stayed still, waiting for the footsteps to pass, but instead of passing her office, they stood still. The door handle moved and very slowly, the door opened. The girl immediately took her gun and waited for the person to come in. A handsome man came in to the office, with a big childish smile, but eyes that made her fear him. Guess she wasn't going to get a call today. Instead, she got a visit of the man she hated the most.

"Hello Ziva," He smiled even bigger. "Long time no see."

Timothy McGee was overly happy, lying next to the woman he loved more than he loved his own life. She was pretty, sweet, funny, cheerful. Everything you want in a girl. The only thing he didn't like so much was the fact that she was married, and not just to anyone, but to one of the most important people in town. While mrs. Gibbs was lying in his arms, mr. Gibbs was probably drinking coffee with the president. And he felt very bad about it. Every time they met, he would tell himself that it would be the last time, that it would never, ever, ever happen again, that he would tell her that it was over. That they couldn't see each other anymore. He had practiced that speech over and over again, and once he had found the courage to tell her, she smiled. And he was lost.

"So, what's the matter? No credit on your cell anymore?" Ziva's voice sounded as venomous as possible.

He laughed. "Well, princess, I've missed you." He said.

"Don't call me a princess," Ziva said. _If looks could kill…_

"Only if you stop acting like one."

"So what, you don't really expect me to call you prince charming, do you?"

He came closer to her, pinning her between the wall and him. "Only if you want too," he whispered in her ear.

"You do know I am armed." She said.

"So you will be able to kill me without even flinging?" He asked, clearly laughing at her.

She just looked at him, with a look in her eyes that asked him to try her.

His face hardened and he turned around. "If you don't want to hear what I have to say, that's fine." He walked to the door.

This was so unfair, she thought. He knew she would want to know everything. Why was she so curious? "Speak." She said.

He turned around, a smile on his face again. "Someone is copycatting me." He said. "And I want to know who."

"Who would want to copy you?" She said. "It's not like you're so special."

"Oh yeah?" He said, sitting down at her desk. "So why can't you catch me?"

"Oh, I will. You just wait." She said.

"I probably will wait, princess. I'm having much fun around here." He leaned back, his hands behind his neck.

"Don't get too comfortable."

"You're right." He said. "I probably should go. So you can work on my case. Maybe you'll finally prove that I am…" He looked at her with a smile. "How do you call me again?"

Ziva glared at him. "I call you Tony," She said. "But if you want to tell me your last name, that would be great,"

"That bugs you, right? Not knowing a single thing about me, when I know a lot about you? And I meant my other name." Tony smiled, totally ignoring her last question.

Ziva felt like she could explode. "You should go right now." She opened her door and pulled him of the chair.

"You're probably right," Tony said. His laugh was getting bigger and more childish with the minute. "Your dear partner Jimmy Palmer will come in anytime now. And we don't want him to know about our little relationship, do we?"

Ziva was stunned. "But we don't have a relationship."

"Yeah, but our beloved Jimmy doesn't know that, does he?"

Ziva pushed him out of the door. "Jimmy knows everything about you."

"If with everything you mean everything you know, than that practically means nothing." Tony said, but he walked away anyway. He waved at her one last time and turned around the corner.


	2. Who said supermarkets were boring?

**Who said supermarkets were boring?**

**AN: I can't thank you enough for reading, favoriting, and subscribing, and reviewing. I'm sorry I kept you waiting.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine. Deuh...**

As usual, Tony had been right, and only seconds after he left, Special agent Jimmy Palmer came to their office, with two cups of coffee in his hand. He gave her one and she took it gratefully. A shot of caffeine was exactly what she needed. Thank god for inventing Starbucks.

"We have a case," Palmer said. "We think it's _Speedy Gonzales _again. Didn't he call?"

"Why did we call him _Speedy Gonzales _again?" She said, rethinking about her little chat with Tony.

"Because we can't catch him. Like no one can catch Speedy Gonzales. I thought he would've called already. He always calls when we find a body."

Ziva nodded. "Well, he'd been so kind to pay a visit."

"that _is_ kind of him," Palmer said, a hint of ironic through his voice. "Why did we have this pleasure?"

"He thinks someone is copying his work." Ziva said. "Does Timothy McGee knows it yet?"

"I don't think so." Palmer said.

Ziva glared at him.

"But I can find out…" Palmer stumbled, almost slipping in his hurry to get to his desk.

"Good. We don't want any journalists on this." Ziva said. She only didn't know that on the other side of the city, Timothy McGee was kissing his secret lover goodbye, and was hurrying to his car, hoping he would have a good story.

...

Ziva cursed when she saw McGee's car standing at the crime scene. He had to interfere with the investigation, in the hope to write a new crime novel. The first one he wrote had been great, but the books following were flops. This murderer was his last hope, and he had to make a book that would _kill_. The only problem was that Ziva David wouldn't help him with anything.

"Good morning, officer," He said cheerfully. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Ziva mumbled something, clearly not in a good mood.

"Good morning, Palmer," McGee said, waving at him.

"Hello, Tim." Palmer said. "You look…" He stopped talking when he saw Ziva glaring, bowed his head and walked to the crime scene.

"So," McGee said. "What do we know?"

"We know nothing. So you can go now," Ziva said.

"Oh, come on." McGee said. "There must be something. I've heard that you know who's the killer."

Ziva counted to ten, knowing that if she didn't, she would say something she would regret later. "Who told you that?" Ziva asked. Ice-cold.

"Secret source. So it is true?" Before McGee could ask more, his phone went off.

Saved by the bell, Ziva thought and she walked away, leaving McGee behind.

...

And after a long day of work, she went to her favorite supermarket. She was very tired, and when she was in a bad mood, she always needed to eat something good. The supermarket was small and unknown, but they had amazing bread and sandwiches. She went straight to the wine department. She loved wine, especially with some cheese. But when she was picking out wine, she felt someone approaching.

"Hello princess," Someone whispered in her ear. "What a coincidence. I see we go to the same grocery store."

"Yes, coincidence," Ziva said. "I was hoping not the see you anymore today."

"That's funny, I was hoping the opposite." Tony smiled. "have I told you how pretty you look today?"

Ziva tried to ignore him, looking at the wine.

"I should pick that one." He pointed at a bottle of wine and when Ziva looked at it, she noticed it was her favorite wine. So the sneakered had been spying on her. "I think I'm going to take another one," Ziva said, although she really wanted that wine. _Why did he have to ruin everything?_

"What about my case?" Tony asked her. "Who was the copycat?"

"I don't know yet." She said truthfully.

Tony nodded. "Nice perfume by the way. New?"

Ziva opened her mouth, but Tony suddenly putted his hand before her mouth. "Hush," He whispered, listening. Then Ziva saw it too; two guys came into the store, obviously armed, obviously with no good intentions. They walked straight to the cashier, and shot him without warning.

"Do you have your gun with you?" Tony's lips were on her ears. Ziva couldn't help but notice the shiver going through her spine.

Of course today she had to forget her gun at the office. _Great_. "I don't have it on me," She whispered.

Tony cursed. "Then we need to be a little bit more original," He said, "Stay here,"

Ziva protested, but it was too late. He was gone and she was there, alone and unarmed. She tried to walk away, but with less success than Tony had done. While she was stumbling back, she bumped against a box. She cursed into herself. She could just as well have started singing. That would probably be more subtle.

...

The sun went down, and we find McGee lying with his lover again. She was acting as if she was asleep, but he knew better. If she would be asleep, she would've been snoring. Suddenly, he had an idea. "We could run," He said out loud. "We could run away and never come back."

Abby Sciuto-Gibbs opened her eyes slowly. "Silly Tim," She said. "You're sweet,"

"But why wouldn't we? We love each other, don't we?" When there came no answer, he said almost desperately: "Don't we?"

Abby smiled. "Of course we do. But you don't know Gibbs like I do. We both be death in a heartbeat. He has enough guys who would do the job."

"But we can disappear. I know someone who could help us."

"No one can just fall off the face of the earth." Abby said, closing her eyes again. "He'll know where to find us."

McGee looked disappointed. "But we could try."

Mrs. Gibbs didn't even bother answering.

...

They had heard her. Obviously. One of the guys was coming to her, probably checking out the cause of the noise. Meanwhile, Ziva was stressing out, something she didn't do before Tony came into her life. He was definitely bringing out the worst in her. Well, if she was going down, she was doing it in style. Mentally, she was trying to remember everything she'd learned in the last 8 years kickboxing.

The guy caught up with her in what seemed less than a second. He smiled at her, showing two golden teeth. "Hi, doll," He said. He putted a step forward.

"Hi, loser," A bottle of wine hit his head. Tony was behind him, smiling his childish smile again. "What?" He said when he saw Ziva starring. "you're not going to thank me?"

Ziva's smile had a mean undertone. "I could've taken him down easy, I was just making you feel good."

Tony's face fell, and he took up the gun from the man on the floor. He aimed it at her. "I'm sorry, Princess," He said. Then, the gun went off.

For a minute, Ziva thought he was going to shoot her, but then she realized she had totally forgotten about the second man. She turned around, and saw that Tony had saved her once again.

"Now you should thank me." Tony muttered.

...

**AN: hope you liked it. If you have the time for it... I really do love reviews.**


	3. I would say we're not in trouble

**AN: ****Thank you, all of you, for reading, favoriting and reviewing. And now for reading this again. You guys are amazing.**

**And to the reviewer named Megan: I hope you are still reading this. I've never said TIVA will be the endgame (To be honest, I'm not really sure yet.) But I **_**hope**_** that you will give this story a chance. And really, thank you for your review.**

**DISCLAIMER: not mine.**

**I would say we're not in trouble, but we kind of are.**

Walking onto a crime scene is never easy. Turning off your emotions. Taking your distance. None of it really helps. It's still a life that has ended too soon. It's never the same. But always awful.

Ziva breathed in and out, preparing herself for the mess she was going to see. She stroke her hand through her hair and walked into a little cottage.

At the same time she saw the body, her phone went off. _Tony._ She immediately understood; seemed like her savior from last night had taken someone else's life instead. The wave of anger she felt was nothing compared to how she used to react: this time it had been personal.

"Have you found my little present?" Tony sounded amused, as if something funny had just happened, but this wasn't funny. It only pissed her off more.

"So, now you're Santa? Cause I always thought he brought nice presents."

"Chillax, princess." Tony said, still amused. "Is there something you want to tell me about my copycat?"

"Yes. We caught him." That was a big lie, and Ziva didn't even know why she said it. She was just so mad. Too mad to think. "Just the way we are going to catch you."

"Why do you lie to people?"

"Why do you kill them?"

Tony laughed. "Well, I might tell you one day. Have a nice day, ruling the world. Or… well… the agency." He disconnected the phone before Ziva could ask him anything more. She wasn't angry; she was furious. For a short moment she'd thought that he was a nice guy that had made some wrong choices. That she could save him. But she had been wrong. He was a killer and he needed to be stopped. And she was going to do everything it takes to catch him.

...

Abby Sciuto was looking out of the window, looking at the stars but not really seeing them. She was thinking about her last conversation with her lover. She had no idea what to do. She really wanted to run away with him, but it wasn't one of the options. She couldn't run. Right? Or should she follow her heart? She wasn't sure anymore. Yes. She loved Tim. More than she'd ever loved anyone else in her life. But she wasn't sure if it would be enough to leave everything behind. And even if she ran… She wasn't stupid. She knew what her husband could do. And that was her answer. She took her phone, and dialed the number. She waited patiently for the person to pick up. "Hello?" She heard someone answer.

"We can run. Now."

...

Three hours and 10 cups of coffee later, they still were where they started: they had nothing. Again: no forensics on the crime scene. No connection between the previous victims. It was just the same as it always was. Palmer sighed. "This is not working." He said, still looking at the computer. "None of the victims look alike, they don't do the same work, they probably don't even know each other."

Ziva looked extremely frustrated. "There must be something. How else would he pick them."

Palmer looked as if a light had gone on. "What if he didn't pick him…"

Ziva frowned. She knew Palmer must have a point, or he wouldn't say it as if he'd just discovered America.

"… What if someone picks them for him."

Ziva nodded enthousiasticly. "That's it! He's not a serial killer, he's a hit man!"

"Yes," Palmer was clearly satisfied. "So the only link we need to look for is a person."

"That is, if he only works for one person."

Palmer ignored her last comment and pushed a few buttons. "We need everyone they've ever met. It can be anyone… This is going to take a while."

Ziva sighed. "I was afraid you would say that."

But weird enough, it only took them half an hour. "Bingo." He said. "There's a link between the fifth and the last victim. Can't believe we never found them. They've both called the same number. Both of them only twice, and the fifth called it almost 3 years before the other, but it is something."

Ziva nodded. "Let's bring the man in." She said, already grabbing her coat.

"Well… That kind of is the problem. I can't find the owner."

"Prepaid?" Ziva asked.

"No. The company denies access."

"That's impossible; we have access to everything." Ziva looked at his computer screen. "We need some help." She said.

"I could help," Paige walked into the office. "I was going to tell you that I've found nothing." She said when she saw the surprised look on Palmer's face. "But I can just as well make myself useful, can't I? So… what do we have?"

Ziva pointed at the screen. "A file we can't enter."

Paige looked at the screen and whistled. "You're searching for someone very important. This is going to be very hard…"

"How long do you need?" Palmer asked her. It could've been Ziva's imagination, but she thought she saw a hint of something in his eyes, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe she needed to sleep more.

Paige smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

"Oh yeah," Palmer said. "I was going to ask you about this. I heard about yesterday, are you alright?"

Ziva frowned. She didn't recall calling him. But then again, the only things she remembered from last night was talking to Tony and almost getting killed.

"Congratulations," Paige explained when she saw her confused look. "You've made the paper."

Palmer threw the paper to her. "Page 18."

Ziva ignored the paper and turned her focus to Paige. "So? What's happening?"

Paige bit her lip. "Access in 3, 2, 1,… and we are in," She said, theatrically bowing. "Do you need anything else, you highness?"

Ziva was stunned. She was the second one who'd compared her with royalty today. Was she really acting like one? It was making her think about Tony. And Tony was the last thing that she wanted on her mind at that moment.

"Ziva?" Palmer said. "I think we lost you for a second,"

Ziva putted on her confidence face. "I'm fine. Who do we have to deal with?"

Paige and Palmer looked at each other. "You're not going to like it…" Palmer said.

Ziva turned the screen. "Wow…" Ziva said. "I think we have a problem."

...

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been furious after he founded out his wife was gone. He'd realized she'd ran away almost immediately, and that hadn't helped either. Despite what she felt, he did love her, very much, and although he noticed that she didn't return his feelings, he thought she'd been happy. Not an unfaithful wife. But his father had told him what the cure was against unfaithful wives.

"Get T. here. Immediately."

**Thank you for reading! And reviews are, if you have time for it, really appreciated. **


	4. everything that can go wrong

**AN: ****I was rereading my story, and I've noticed that I've forgotten to introduce Paige. I'm really sorry for that, but I've accidently edited the piece were she originally first appeared. She works in the lab and is really good friends with Palmer. But you'll get to know her the next chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yes. You've guessed right. This is not mine.**

**dedicated to red gummy bears. I haven't really had the chance to tell you, but thank you so much for your reviews. They make my day.**

**Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong**

Jimmy Palmer was already working when Ziva arrived at the office. He looked very tired, as if he'd been working all night. And judging by the cups of coffee in the thrash ban he probably had.

Ziva went to sit behind her desk. "What did I miss?" Ziva asked.

Palmer looked surprised. "You didn't hear?"

Now she was curious. "Didn't hear what?"

"Abby Gibbs disappeared. You know, the wife of the senator. And McGee did so too. Rumor says he kidnapped her."

Ziva was surprised. She may not really like McGee, she didn't believe McGee was a kidnapper. And she saw that Palmer was hiding something. "You can tell me, you know," Ziva tried. They _were_ friends, after all, and friends told things to each other. Right?

Palmer sighed. "Well, McGee told me once that he had a secret lover. But that she was married to a very important man. But he never told me her name."

"And now you think that woman is Abby." Ziva said.

Palmer smiled uncomfortable. "Yes."

Ziva nodded. "And do we handle the case?"

"No. We are only aloud to investigate murder, remember?"

Ziva looked annoyed. Stupid rules. Then she got an idea. "Then we're just going to be a little sneakier, right?"

Palmer frowned. "Right…" he said, not really sure of himself.

Ziva smiled. "Do you know if Paige is working on the job?"

"I got here as soon as possible. Do you have a new assignment?" Tony looked almost amused. He'd been there so many times with the weirdest reason why he had to kill someone. He was curious who had made 'the great Gibbs' furious this time.

"Yes." Gibbs seemed to doubt for a second, like he was not sure if this was a good idea after all. "here," He gave her a picture.

Tony's eyes waded. "No." He said. He gave Gibbs the picture back. "No."

Gibbs frowned. Tony had never refused an assignment. "Yes."

"No,"

"Why not? You've never made a problem of it before."

Tony hesitated for a second. "She used to be in my class. In high school."

Gibbs looked amused. "Good for you. I will pay a lot for this, okay? You just have to make her disappear."

"No I'm not killing her. You don't understand," He tried to explain. "I know her."

Gibbs smiled. "yes you will. You know I can prove you killed those people. All 14. That pretty, little agent would like that. The best assassin in the world, right?"

Tony bitted his tong. Of course he knew that. But he couldn't. And he knew only one way out. And he couldn't do that without help. And he knew who might help him. Or who he wanted him to help. "I will do it. But I need some time." Talking about an understatement.

Ziva sighed. She hated days like this. The only positive thing she could think of was that they had found out something about Tony. After 2 years coming up blank. Everything came together: Their 'almost stalker' crime writer McGee, having an affair with the wife of the guy who gives Tony – the guy McGee was doing his newest novel about - his assignments. All connected. Palmer was with Paige – they had been best friends as long as she could remember, even before they came to work there. And that meant that he was going to stay away a long time. So Ziva had all the time to try to contact Tony. If someone was going to be able to help them find McGee, it would be him. And she may not like him, but if it was their only option to find McGee back… After all, Palmer had done a lot for her. It was time she did something back.

"Princess," Tony walked into the office. _Speak of the devil…_

"What?" Ziva asked. She couldn't help but smile. "Are you asking me if I've discovered something about you?"

Tony looked confused. "No, actually. I know the answer to that question anyway. I was going to ask you something else."

"So, really?" She said, looking at him suspiciously.

Tony enclosed the space between them. "I need your help." Tony said, looking her in the eyes.

This did surprise Ziva. "Why would I help you?" Ziva said. "You ruined my life. And probably my career too if I don't catch you fast."

"Please," Tony said. His eyes were serious. Call the news, for the first time, he wasn't joking.

"Well," Ziva said. If he asked her for help, she had the chords in her hands. And she needed something from him too. "You know what they say: an eye for an ear."

"An eye for an eye," Tony said. "You're living here since you were 3, you shouldn't make those mistakes anymore."

Ziva looked confused. "I was born here," She said. She was sure of it. It couldn't be, right?

Tony seemed startled for a second, but quickly recovered. "What do you need?"

Ziva wasn't going to let go so fast. "I need to know what is going on."

Tony sighed. "Call your daddy for that. It doesn't matter anyway. What does matter is that I really do need your help."

"Then you are going to help me," Ziva said.

Tony nodded. "Makes sense. What do you need?"

"I need you to prove that McGee is innocent."

Tony frowned. "That won't be possible, I'm afraid."

"Then I'm not going to help you." Ziva was angry, very angry. She had been sure that he could help her. Of course he'd let her down. He was really the most awful man she'd ever met. "You can go now."

"I'm not going. I need your help."

"Why the hell would I help you? You can't even help me. You're impossible. You're awful. You're… You're…" Ziva was so mad she couldn't even think of more words to insult him.

Tony came even closer. "Because you're in love with me…" He said.

His lips were on hers before Ziva could react. She didn't push him away either, she was just too stunned.

Too soon, Tony walked back. "Think about it," He said. "Think about this kiss, and then remember that I need your help."

"Ziva," Someone said, sounding totally stunned.

"Hey Palmer," Tony said, without turning around.

Ziva looked over Tony's shoulder and saw Palmer standing in the doorway, with confusion written all over his face. She was in big trouble.


	5. Safety in numbers

**AN: Thank you so much for your reviews and alerts, everyone! They were amazing. Thank you.**

**AND... Today is my birthday! Since I've decided that for one day, it's alright to skip homework, I was able to update, something I've wanted to in a long time. So I hope you'll like it!**

**Safety in numbers**

As usual, Tony was no help. He ran off as soon as possible, leaving with a "I'll see you later," and a "hi Palmer." And then left Ziva and Palmer alone. Ziva felt how her cheeks colored. Palmer walked into the office, but with a look of suspicion. It was as if he was expecting to see a death body dropping out of the closet. Without a word, he went to sit on a chair on the opposite of her desk. He didn't say anything, he just sat. Ziva almost growled. She'd always thought the silent treatment was the most unfair one. She had the feeling she was under interrogation. Later she figured that was exactly the case. So she sat over him, also keeping her lips sealed. They sat like that for a while, but Ziva was much, much better in it, so Palmer gave up quickly. He was clearly nervous, and only said. "You know what. I don't want to know." He stood up, trying to walk away, but then changed his mind. "Can you do me a favor?" He asked.

Ziva nodded. That would only be fair.

"Don't fall for the wrong people. Before it is too late." He said. Ziva saw a flash in his eyes of something she hadn't expect to see. Acknowledgment.

He was already in the hallway when Ziva stopped him. "Have you ever fallen for the wrong person?" Ziva asked. She already knew the answer.

Palmer slowly turned around, considering his options, but then he grinned and said: "yes. Yes I have."

"What happened?" She asked, clearly curious.

Palmer sighed. This was definitely not his favorite story to tell. "I warn you now," He sat. "It doesn't have a happy ending." He sat down, clearly uncomfortable. He thought of the right way to begin. Then he smiled, remembering other times. Happier times. "She was the reason I ended up here," He said, looking at Ziva. "So it was good for something."

Ziva nodded. She didn't want him to stop talking, now he'd started.

"We met when I was still in college. I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. She was the most beautiful, intelligent, funny, crazy person you'd ever met. She was perfect." He sighed. "We had had an amazing summer. On one of those summer evenings, she told me that she'd killed a few people. She told me she had been scared, and that they had tried to attack her, and I was too much in love to question it. I promised her to protect her. A year later someone found out. She begged me to run with her, told me I promised it, and that I couldn't break that promise. I didn't want to leave everything behind, but I did it anyway. We wanted to come here, to start over. The day before we left, the dad of one of her victims shot her. She died in my arms." Tears ran down Palmers cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too caught up in the story. "Later I heard she had mental problems. She'd killed all those people for no reason. 9 innocent people. And I had tried to help her, didn't care about anything else but her. And I still hate myself for it. A very sweet student told me that it would be best to go away and that she would come with me if I asked her too. So we came here. After a while, I began to love her. I became a cop, and she…" He didn't finish his sentence.

Ziva looked up, but Palmer shook his head. "It doesn't matter," He said. "What does matter is that it is no good to fall for the wrong person."

Ziva laughed. "I wasn't planning on it." She reassured him. It only made him frown more. He raised an eyebrow. "So, why did you kiss him?" He asked, clearly confused.

"rule nr. 9." She said.

Palmer seemed surprised. "What does not dating a coworker has to do with this?"

"I meant never assume anything," She said, clearly disappointed in him. Palmer nodded and made another attempt to leave the room. No such luck.

"Palmer," Ziva called. "Why were you here in the first place?"

Palmer smiled. "Paige has found something."

….

The dustbin Tony passed had to endure his anger. He had made a mistake. And he usually didn't make mistakes. He should've worked slower, should've been more honest. If he had simply told her why he needed her help, she would've done it. And then he had to ruin it. Great. And the feeling in his stomach hadn't helped. He wasn't falling in love: he couldn't. She was a know-it-all, she was annoying, she thought she could handle the world. And most off all: she was a cop. He didn't need all that. The only thing he wanted was a plan, a plan to save a good friend.

He needed to think. He needed to plan a strategy. He needed time. And he was running out of it.

….

Ms. Gibbs herself was a 200 miles away. She smiled. She had never thought that being free would feel so right. She had a feeling that she could handle the world. "Honey," She woke McGee very gently, trying not to disturb the peace. "Where do you want to go?"

McGee looked as if he could fall back asleep any second. "What," He murmed.

"Your turn to drive," She said, pulling over and getting out of the car.

"Where are we going?" McGee said, his voice still thick of sleep.

Abby thought for a second. "Wherever we want to go." She said. She could feel the adrenaline running trough her vains.

She opened the door, causing McGee to fall out of the car, and gave him a kiss. McGee smiled.

…

"Well," Paige said. "I was just matching bullets, just to confirm what we already know, and I had 14 bullets from the same gun."

Ziva frowned. "I could've told you that before."

Paige's eyes sparkled. "Yes, but if you count in the one copycat murder, there were 17 victims."

"What?" Ziva stumbled. "Are you sure?"

"So our copycat is still killing." Palmer concluded.

Ziva still had doubts. "Maybe Tony has changed guns?"

Palmer shook his head. "We are sure there is at least one copycat murder. I guess the other three were a match?"

"Yes." Paige smiled brightly.

"Then we are going to find him." Ziva said. She couldn't help but wonder why Tony had lied to them.


End file.
